Davis Selected Advisers Sells 29,480 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Davis Selected Advisers lessened its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 251,750 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 29,480 shares during the quarter. Davis Selected Advisers owned 0.06% of Ventas worth $14,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.31. 3,241,629 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,381,816. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 349.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04.

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Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on VTR shares. Wedbush increased their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.20.

Ventas Company Profile

Ventas Inc NYSE: VTR is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.